A Silent Voice: My First Kiss Was with Nishimiya Shouko

"Shouko, you won't believe how outrageous Chika is—she actually says she doesn't like me!" Matsuoka Miu spotted the two familiar figures at the classroom door, jumped to her feet, ran over, and threw her arms around Shouko with a dramatic pout.

Akira leaned lazily against the doorframe, already used to their antics, and nodded in greeting at Ito Chika as she walked up behind them.

"Chika said I'm noisy! Can you believe that?" Miu whined louder. "I'm clearly such a good girl."

Slap!

"Chika! What are you doing?!" Miu yelped, spinning around and shielding her rear. "Wait… Are you trying to take advantage of this beautiful girl's charm?!"

Akira smirked as he watched the ridiculous interaction, only for a soft voice beside him to draw his attention.

"You didn't see anything, right?"

Turning, he saw Shouko gazing at him gently. Her round eyes reflected his face, and he instantly understood what she meant. He quickly shook his head, pretending ignorance.

"See what? I was just admiring the view."

Shouko squinted suspiciously at him but saw no guilt or panic on his face. She let it go and turned back toward Miu and Chika. "Alright, stop playing around. Let's go find somewhere to eat our lunch."

"Okay," Chika replied, immediately grabbing Miu's flailing hand.

"Let's sit on the bench downstairs," Akira suggested.

"Mm. Let's go." Ignoring the two who were still squabbling, Akira and Shouko walked off. Miu and Chika quickly stopped their antics and hurried to catch up.

They finally found an empty brown bench. As soon as they sat down, Miu started complaining again.

"Shouko, you won't believe it—our Class Teacher is actually that awful Minagawa-sensei!"

She was about to launch into another rant, but Akira cut her off: "You guys chat. I forgot my water bottle. I'll go back upstairs and grab it."

Miu blinked. "You're going all the way up to the third floor again? There's a drinking fountain right here on the first floor. Doesn't it bother you to climb that much?"

She didn't understand why Akira disliked the direct-drink water fountains so much. They didn't taste bad, and she'd used them for years without issue.

Akira shook his head, brushing off her suggestion. He reached over to ruffle Shouko's hair and reminded her gently,

"No drinking from the fountain, okay? I'll be right back."

He'd already warned Miu and Chika about those fountains, but they didn't really listen. As long as Shouko did, that was enough.

"Mhm, I'll wait until you come back before I eat," Shouko nodded.

Meanwhile…

"Shouya, you're not seriously going to tear up Akira's textbooks, are you?" Hirose Keisuke asked cautiously. Shimada Ikki had gone to the restroom, leaving them alone.

Keisuke was worried. Miyamura Akira didn't seem like someone you could mess with lightly. The way he'd thrown that thermos? That wasn't normal.

"Huh? You're trying to talk me out of it?" Ishida Shouya frowned as he swallowed the bite in his mouth. "You think I'm scared?"

"Miyamura, he—"

"Forget it. I already promised Ikki a bunch of times. If I back down now, I'll lose face. This'll teach that guy a lesson—and warn the other boys too."

Shouya figured the worst case was that he'd get asked to pay for the books. Big deal—he'd just get his mom to handle it. And besides, it was the perfect chance to show he wasn't someone to mess with.

Keisuke sighed and gave up on trying to stop him.

"Shouya, you guys still eating?" Shimada Ikki returned with his usual smile.

"Just finishing," Shouya replied, shoveling down the rest of his food quickly.

Ikki sat beside him, watching with mild amusement. Then, as if remembering something, he leaned closer and asked in a playful whisper,

"So, how are you going to do it—sneaky or bold?"

"Huh?" Shouya looked up, confused.

Ikki smirked. "If you sneak around and get caught, you'll just look like a coward. But if you go loud and proud—right in front of everyone—people will think you're brave, like you're not scared of Miyamura or the new Class Monitor. You'd look cool."

Shouya paused, considering it. That… kind of made sense. If he was going to do it anyway, doing it boldly would have more impact.

He made up his mind.

"I'm going."

Shimada Ikki faked a shocked expression. "Wait, you're actually going? I was just kidding."

"Don't joke now," Shouya said confidently. "He embarrassed me. Time for payback."

Ikki dropped his hand, letting him go, and smiled as he sat back down, looking forward to the show.

SLAM SLAM SLAM!!

Ishida Shouya stormed up to Akira's empty seat and pounded his desk loudly. The classroom immediately went quiet. Even students eating their bentos looked up in surprise.

"Ishida! Why aren't you resting? What do you think you're doing, making a scene?" Kawai Miki shouted, already stepping into her Class Monitor role.

"Yeah, Shouya, what are you doing?" a former classmate called out.

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POWER STONE!!

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